Sports Medicine

BACKGROUND: Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is a potentially catastrophic injury that may occur during sports participation. A comprehensive review is needed to collate documented cases to improve understanding and inform future preventative approaches. OBJECTIVE: This review aimed to understand the extent of VAD in sport and characterise trends suggestive of mechanisms of injury. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched using terms related to VAD and sport...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to identify prospective studies that used a criteria-based return to sport (RTS) decision-making process for patients with lateral ankle sprain (LAS) injury. DESIGN: Systematic review and narrative synthesis. DATA SOURCES: The PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, PEDro, Cochrane Library, SPORTDiscus (EBSCO), ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases were searched to 23 November 2018. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Studies were included if they prospectively applied a criteria-based RTS decision-making process for patients with LAS injury, but were excluded if they merely gathered outcome measures at the RTS time point...

BACKGROUND: Repetitive head impacts in young athletes are potentially detrimental to later life (e.g., age 50 + years) neurological function; however, it is unknown what the short-term effects (e.g., age 20 years) are in collegiate student-athletes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the estimated age of first exposure to American tackle football participation on neurocognitive performance and symptom severity scores in collegiate student-athletes...

The existing literature suggests two standpoints in defining heat intolerance, which are heat tolerance as state or trait. The former bases its case in the plasticity of human physiology, where one may gain or lose the adaptations associated with heat acclimatization and the ability to tolerate heat is considered transient. This phenomenon is exemplified in the recovery process of exertional heat stroke (EHS) patients in that victims of EHS are able to eventually regain heat tolerance and return to activity without recurrent episodes of EHS...

BACKGROUND: Motor competence and physical fitness are important factors for promoting positive trajectories of health over time. In 2008, Stodden and colleagues developed a model that discussed the role of both factors in physical activity. Furthermore, the authors hypothesized that the relationship between motor competence and physical fitness is reciprocal and changes over time. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present meta-analysis was to synthesize the evidence on the relationship between motor competence and components of physical fitness from early childhood to early adulthood and the potential influence of age...

Physical literacy (PL) provides a powerful lens for examining movement in relation to physical activity (PA) and motor skill outcomes, environmental context, and broader social and affective learning processes. To date, limited consideration has been given to the role PL plays in promoting positive health behaviours. There is no clear conceptual framework based on existing empirical evidence that links PL to health, nor has an evidence-informed case been made for such a position. The purpose of this paper is to (1) present a conceptual model positioning PL as a health determinant, and (2) present evidence in support of PL as a health determinant, drawing on research largely from outside physical education...

Clinical management of concussion has evolved over the last 20 years, and complete cognitive and physical rest remains a common clinical recommendation. The duration of rest may vary widely, from 24-48 h to several weeks or until the patient's symptoms have resolved or returned to near baseline levels. Following a period of rest, a stepwise progression of exercise is used for gradual return to play or to work. Previous research in healthy people suggested that prolonged periods of physical inactivity consistently induced deleterious physiological and psychological effects...

Athletes who wish to resume high-level activities after an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are often advised to undergo surgical reconstruction. Nevertheless, ACL reconstruction (ACLR) does not equate to normal function of the knee or reduced risk of subsequent injuries. In fact, recent evidence has shown that only around half of post-ACLR patients can expect to return to competitive level of sports. A rising concern is the high rate of second ACL injuries, particularly in young athletes, with up to 20% of those returning to sport in the first year from surgery experiencing a second ACL rupture...

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of death worldwide, and percutaneous transluminal coronary angiography (PTCA) and/or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; angioplasty) are commonly used to diagnose and/or treat the obstructed coronaries. Exercise-based rehabilitation is recommended for all CAD patients; however, most guidelines do not specify when exercise training should commence following PTCA and/or PCI. Catheterization can result in arterial dysfunction and acute injury, and given the fact that exercise, particularly at higher intensities, is associated with elevated inflammatory and oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and a pro-thrombotic milieu, performing exercise post-PTCA/PCI may transiently elevate the risk of cardiac events...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Advancements in wearable technology have provided practitioners and researchers with the ability to conveniently measure various health and/or fitness indices. Specifically, portable devices have been devised for convenient recordings of heart rate variability (HRV). Yet, their accuracies remain questionable. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to quantify the accuracy of portable devices compared to electrocardiography (ECG) for measuring a multitude of HRV metrics and to identify potential moderators of this effect...

BACKGROUND: Institutional position stands are useful for practitioners when designing exercise routines for specific populations. Resistance training has been included in programs for patients with cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review was to analyze institutional guidelines providing recommendations for resistance training applied to cardiovascular disease. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched from inception until 30 April, 2018...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common injuries in sports, and the injury mechanisms are not completely clear. Bone bruises seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) following ACL injuries may provide significant information for determining ACL injury mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to determine ACL injury mechanisms through an evaluation of locations of bone bruises associated with ACL injury. METHODS: A search for related articles in PubMed and the EBSCO Sport Database was performed using selected search strings from inception to August 6, 2018...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

When assessing biomechanics in a laboratory setting, task selection is critical to the production of accurate and meaningful data. The injury biomechanics of landing is commonly investigated in a laboratory setting using a drop landing task. However, why this task is so frequently chosen is unclear. Therefore, this narrative review aimed to (1) identify the justification/s provided within the published literature as to why a drop landing task was selected to investigate the injury biomechanics of landing in sport and (2) use current research evidence, supplemented by a new set of biomechanical data, to evaluate whether the justifications are supported...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Exercise-associated physiological disturbances alter gastrointestinal function and integrity. These alterations may increase susceptibility to dietary triggers, namely gluten and a family of short-chain carbohydrates known as FODMAPs (fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols). A recent surge in the popularity of gluten-free diets (GFDs) among athletes without celiac disease has been exacerbated by unsubstantiated commercial health claims and high-profile athletes citing this diet to be the secret to their success...

Polyphenols are characterised structurally by two or more hydroxyl groups attached to one or more benzene rings, and provide the taste and colour characteristics of fruits and vegetables. They are radical scavengers and metal chelators, but due to their low concentration in biological fluids in vivo their antioxidant properties seem to be related to enhanced endogenous antioxidant capacity induced via signalling through the Nrf2 pathway. Polyphenols also seem to possess anti-inflammatory properties and have been shown to enhance vascular function via nitric oxide-mediated mechanisms...